Every business has a story to tell. The story always begins in the same place, as a dream in the heart and mind of a business owner. Someone who wants to make a better life for themselves and their family, provide a service or product to others, or look to make the world a better place. This dream born out of the heart of an entrepreneur begins to take on a life and grow, and as it grows, it finds its voice. However, often the language of business is one that many entrepreneurs must learn to understand if their business is to blossom and become profitable to make their dreams and goals a reality. Understanding the language of business means not only understanding what all those numbers on the page mean but being accountable to those financial documents and reports, so your business can grow healthy and strong. For this reason, many entrepreneurs wonder, “Do I need a bookkeeper?” Bookkeepers and accountants have made it their life goal to translate this language for business owners and help hold them accountable to those numbers.
The two questions I am often asked are, should I hire a bookkeeper and when I hire a bookkeeper? The simple answers are yes. You need them from the day you decide to put your first dollar into your business. I also recommend you consider outsourcing your bookkeeping to a firm specializing in this service. Doing this gives you the same or better level of service as hiring someone in your organization. It also offers you an objective opinion on your business’s health, what goals it should be reaching, and where to make changes.
Here are 5 reasons to outsource your bookkeeping:
1. It saves you time.
They handle the recording, categorizing, and compiling of your financial data. Giving you those hours back to do what you’re passionate about. Bookkeepers are experts in their field, making them efficient at recording and compiling financial data. Instead of coming home after a long day working in your business to a stack of bank statements and a pile of receipts, your bookkeeper allows these activities to run in the background while you are hard at work. Making sure these tasks are done efficiently and accurately and ready for your review when you need them. A bookkeeper saves a business owner, on average, 100 hours per year.
2. It saves you money.
When you outsource your bookkeeping, you pay a monthly fee instead of a full-time salary and benefits. You don’t have to worry about paying payroll taxes or benefits for your bookkeeper, and you can reduce your tax liability through an expense. Bookkeepers are equipped to handle your accounts payable and accounts receivable, which means they can help ensure your bills are paid on time, saving you from paying late fees. They can also invoice your customers accurately and timely, increasing your cash flow and bottom line. Outsourcing your bookkeeping is like hiring an entire accounting department for your business at a fraction of the cost.
3. It saves you frustration.
Many bookkeepers and accountants will not only handle the function of compiling the financial information for you, but they can help you interpret that data into a coherent story of how your business is functioning and growing. Many business owners struggle with understanding what information they should be capturing and how they should be capturing it. What category does the expense go in? Even in an age where accounting software abounds and is touted as the ultimate do-it-yourself tool, many owners quickly realize that it’s not as easy as the commercials make it seem. Bookkeepers are skilled at setting up these systems, maintaining them, and asking questions to ensure your accounting is accurate.
4. A bookkeeper helps you interpret the story of your business.
A bookkeeper will not only compile the raw financial transaction of your business but helps you understand what that raw data means. Bookkeepers and accountants are excellent objective opinions in your business. They know not only what all those numbers mean but what you should be looking at to make your business more profitable. Is your business healthy, or is there an area that needs some attention? What areas do you need to focus on to ensure you are profitable? Do you need to be cutting expenses? If so, what expenses make sense to cut back on? Do you need to focus on increasing sales? If so, what areas are showing the most promise and return on investment dollars? A bookkeeper can provide you with the tools to answer these questions. They can help you understand how cash is flowing through your business, how your profit is growing (or shrinking) and help you identify the reasons why.
5. It gives you confidence in decision-making.
Your bookkeeper has compiled your data and helped you understand what it all means. Now you are ready to make well-informed decisions on the next steps in your business. To successfully make these decisions, you need real-time information on your business. Bookkeepers remove the emotion from the decision-making and provide data-based analysis to help you make better decisions for your company.
The real question is not do I need a bookkeeper but rather, why would I not want a bookkeeper? Bookkeepers save you time, money, and frustration. They provide critical information to help you make confident decisions in your business.
If you are ready to level up your business and outsource your accounting needs, reach out to the bookkeeping specialists at PMB Capital Solutions, to see how we can help you. Call us at (704) 397-3193 or fill out our inquiry form online. You can also email us at pmb@newtocharlotte.com.
